Actor Guy Pearce started his career on Australian television, but his big breakout role would come in 1997’s L.A. Confidential. Before the Curtis Hanson-directed movie, Pearce’s film career comprised supporting roles, including 1994’s The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
During an interview, Pearce admitted that his role in the road comedy movie might have resulted in him missing out on L.A. Confidential. However, Pearce was thankful that Hanson did not watch it before casting him for his 1997 classic. Here is how Curtis Hanson’s not watching Priscilla led to Pearce’s L.A. Confidential casting.
Guy Pearce would’ve missed out on L.A. Confidential because of a previous role
Actor Guy Pearce delivered a breakout performance in Curtis Hanson’s 1997 neo-noir crime-thriller L.A. Confidential. Based on James Ellroy’s novel of the same name, the movie featured Pearce in the role of Detective Lieutenant Edmund “Shotgun Ed” Exley.
During an interview with GQ, Pearce admitted that he thought he would’ve missed out on the role of Ed in the cult classic movie had director Hanson seen some of his previous work, particularly his performance in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Pearce made the following statement, revealing Hanson never watched the 1994 road comedy movie, and he was thankful for it:
Curtis never saw Priscilla, he never wanted to see Priscilla. Even till the day he passed away, he still didn’t saw Priscilla. Which, I was kind of thankful for ’cause he may not have cast me as Ed.
In the interview, the Memento actor further revealed that Hanson would not cast him as Ed if he watched his performance as the drag queen Felicia Jollygoodfellow in Priscilla. Given that he played a hyper-masculine role in Hanson’s movie, it is easy to see why Pearce was glad the director did not see his previous work.
Guy Pearce revealed how he prepared for L.A. Confidential
During the same interview, Pearce also talked about working on L.A. Confidential, which was nominated for nine Academy Awards, aside from emerging as a commercial success. The actor noted that the movie’s script was rooted in Los Angeles.
Pearce admitted to using James Ellroy’s novel as source material for crafting his performance, taking details from the book to inform himself of his character’s backstory. At the same time, Pearce also spent time with real police officers in LA.
The Iron Man 3 actor revealed that he spent weeks in the city preparing for the role and visiting places with real officers. He said:
I spent a number of weeks in L.A. preparing. And we were driving around by a couple of cops. And taken to some pretty bad areas. And told lots of stories of being cop in L.A.
Pearce admitted that spending time with real officers in real places allowed him to immerse himself in the material and create an authentic performance. At the same time, the actor praised his co-star Russell Crowe for helping him during the production, having started their careers at the same time in Australia.
L.A. Confidential is currently streaming on Plex (USA).
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